All Access Column 3

	ALL ACCESS COLUMN #3 10/7/01 I think today calls for a day of reminiscing. I’ve been doing a lot of that lately, looking back at the good times. With the whole September 11th incident, it’s made me appreciate a lot of moments and the time I’ve shared with certain people a lot more. And I’ve been wanting to get the fans involved in All Access, so I figured, why not ask everyone what their favorite Townsend moment is. There really is no definition to a favorite moment but I’d define it as "one particular moment that sticks in your mind b/c it was funny, touching, embarrassing, etc." It’s just one of those things that you never forget. The guys have been able to reach the fans on different levels, so it’s impossible to pinpoint the many differences they’ve made in everyone’s lives. I’ve had about a million of those moments, mostly funny…you know me. But before I get to that, I just remembered something that happened to me on Friday. My locker is infested with pictures of my friends and mostly Townsend I’ll admit. I was at my locker getting some books before 5th period, and this girl in my Anatomy & Physiology class comes up to me and says, "Hey can I just take a moment to look at the pictures in your locker b/c you’ve got some hot guys in there." So of course it was fine with me, I’m used to random kids coming up and staring at the pics in my locker. It’s pretty funny, but hey I figure, if it’s going to grab their attention, I’m up for telling them about Townsend. Turns out, she already knew who Ryan was. She told me this in the beginning of the year, but I completely forgot about it. Her friend told her about Ryan, so she had gone on his official website and emailed him. And he responded, so she was pretty excited to find out that he had a group when I told her. Ok now I remember what she told me in the beginning of the school year. I had a picture of Rye on my binder and she said, "Hey that’s that Ryan guy." I love moments like that. It’s rare that kids from my high school already know who Townsend is unless I tell them. So I find it pretty cool when random people come up to me asking about them. Lately I’ve seen an increase in requests for pics of Rye. I made these collages of the guys and turned them into book-covers, so that definitely catches the eye. Hmm… Townsend school supplies. Now that’s an idea. Ok and this is kind of a rant on my dad (sorry dad, I have to vent), but it has to do with Townsend. Whenever we’re with relatives or family friends, my dad has a habit of mentioning Townsend totally out of the blue. Or he’ll nudge me at the dinner table and go, "Psssttt…why don’t you tell them about Townsend." Of course I love the guys and love every chance I get to talk about them, but sometimes it’s just embarrassing when your dad brings it up to people you’ve known since you were in diapers. And not every adult understands how much I appreciate the opportunity I’ve been given to help out Townsend. So on Saturday, we were going to my friend’s house for dinner. And my dad was asking me if my other friends who were going to be there knew about Townsend. *rolling my eyes* Keep in mind that these friends of mine are BOYS and I’ve known them since I was really little. You know 16 year old boys…one mention of hot guys in a group that can sing and their immediate reaction is, "Eww boy band (rolling their eyes)." Which to me translates to "Man…why can’t I be like them? I’m so jealous." LoL! Then I have to go into the whole "They’re not your stereotypical boyband" speech and that just old to them. So I like to avoid that conversation with the male half of my friends. And I made my dad promise not to randomly mention Townsend b/c everyone already knew about them. The funny thing is even though my dad kept his promise, my friend’s’ parents asked about Townsend! How about that! It still was sort of embarrassing though. Alrighty, to the favorite Townsend moments we go. Keep in mind that some of these are meant to make you laugh, so don’t take them too seriously. Any comments of mine are in italics. *WARNING*: MAJOR READING AHEAD (drink water if you’re gonna read this out loud (I already lost mine ack) Marisa "M-Boogie": "This is more like a Todd moment, rather than a Townsend moment. Haha. Myself, my sister Renee, my cousin Candace, & friends Addie and Megan (Crazy Meg) were all together at Eye Candy (Limelight) back in February. After the club let out, we were standing in the street trying to cool down because it was so hot inside. We were hanging out with Todd in the street, just chitchattin’, taking pictures, blah blah, you know, the usual. So everyone knows about my little crush on Todd (LOL) and so everytime he turned his back to us, I'd swoon. (Swoon? Where'd I get that word from? Haha!) But to make this long story short, Todd dropped the cap to his water bottle and bent over RIGHT in front of us to pick it up. Well I tend to be a little quick witted and a little loud at times, and well without thinking, I busted out with "Bend Over Todd, show me what you're workin' with" . Oops! Haha! Well, that song, "Shake it Fast" by Mystikal has become the theme song for Todd and I don't think he'll ever live it down. Now whenever I'm at a Townsend show and Todd's around, the song just comes to mind and I can't stop singing it. So I think my favorite moment with Townsend has got to be "Bend Over Todd, show me what you're workin' with". ;) " -CeeJay: "Well my favorite Townsend moment was when I met them at the California State Fair! It was the coolest thing. I was waiting in line to meet them for about 20 minutes. I went through all the guys, who are so nice by the way (MATT HUGGED ME!!!), and I got to the twins. Nick was the second to last and Dom was next to him. I introduced myself and we shook hands. Then he leaned over to me and went "Psst.." I was like "What?" He's so so cute. He said, "I have to Pee SOOO BAD!" I was like oh my gosh did he really say that he has to pee? It was so FUNNY! Then I said I understood because I had to the whole time they were performing! =) We laughed so hard and then continued to talk for a bit. I couldn't stop laughing....He has such a cute smile! It was the funniest thing ever. YAY Townsend for having a good sense of humor! =)" *I’ve heard them say that many many times. LoL* -Kristen "K-Angel": Touching: The airshow The Story: (I've elaborated on that one already...I don't think you want a novel.) *Note from Joy*: For more details on that, go visit http://cruzin.to/ryantorres to read about her experience at Townsend’s Airshow performance. Embarrassing/Funny: August 24, 2001 The Story (in my words haha): Once upon a time there was a play with a talented young star named Gina Restani (Nick & Dom’s sister). I went with Melanie and Dad as a "Father-Daughters" bondage evening since my mom was at my high school for a welcome for freshman parents. I think that it may have been the sugar or the fact that I had a Starbucks beverage on an empty stomach. I'm not sure actually. Well, for people who don't know me, I'm already a person who can be pretty hyper with my friends and get spazztic or frazzled if too much goes on that I can't keep up with. I tend to build up energy and if it's not used for a certain amount of time, I just magnify my habits times 10. I sat watched the play and loved it. But I didn't realize that I had energy built up. I think I caught a small hint at the intermission when I went to the bathroom to make sure I was "decent" and ran into good 'ol Joy & Courtney. If anything the smell of something that a previous user of the ladies room had smoked triggered it. I just went OFF on the smell and started laughing. I eventually calmed myself but at the end of the play....things started to escalate. Amber, who I had arrived with, started teasing me about me being "boyfriendless." I was already talking a mile a minute when I turn to the Barnum & Bailey clown...well munchkin mannequin dressed in a lime green/hot pink checkered outfit. I looked at it and claimed the headless, armless, legless, handless figure and said that he was my "significant other." I didn't realize at this point that my dad and Melanie were anxious to leave so we could pick up my mother on time. As we migrated to the front lobby area of the auditorium the volume of my voice started to rise without my knowledge. (Part of the hype I suppose.) Eventually, I was just trying to manage to keep an eye on dad and Mel, my friends, and making sure that people were still having good laughs. (Part of my personality test results named me an "artisan", one of the incorporated qualities was making sure that people were constantly amused and were having fun by poking fun at themselves.) While I was talking to Nick he waved at someone behind me. I turned to see if it was someone I knew, well it was. I saw my dad's back turn the corner and Melanie bolting across the plaza. I hugged everyone as quick as I could freaking out and bolted out the door, or at least tried. Someone should REALLY stick one of those "Turn & Push NOT Pull" signs on doors like that. Well I eventually freed myself and ran across the plaza waving after them. In 3 1/2 inch heels and skirt I'm sure that I was anything BUT graceful to the 10-15 people in the panoramic windowed lobby. In fact I'm positive of that. I decided to try and redeem myself by calling up Amber on her cell to have her tell everyone I'm sorry I couldn't stay. Before I could tell her to just tell them I was being handed off to Nick who on my end of the cell had the lowest volume on my receiver. I realized he was playing the "Who are you?" game after repeating a couple things. I was ok for a while, game over and he started to just talk, only I kept not hearing him. "Huh?" and "What did you say?" were probably the most said words of my mouth. He poked fun at me while I was told, people were listening to me (who you could hear perfectly fine and VERY loud on Amber’s receiver) while Nick repeated everything 2 or 3 times. I heard giggles and soon realized that I needed to plug my other ear. I was handed off to Dom who was so surprised at the volume difference that he insinuated that he was deaf. (I hope he has his hearing back now because it would suck if he had to wear a hearing aid.) I was handed off to good 'ol Matt who made no mention of the phone issues and we hung up. I was told later of how "funny" I was. I didn't know that me on a sugar high was as amusing as everyone else found it. In fact, it's embarrassing! I was told that I was super loud on Amber's phone and you could hear EVERYTHING I was saying. I didn't say anything offensive but I wish I at least knew that the entire lobby @ Zeum was listening to me. People still remind me of my boyfriend (who I have dumped by the way), spazzing, freaking out, my exiting attempt, my brisk trot across the plaza downtown, and my phone conversation. I don't know if I'll EVER live it out, but if I don't at least now I can laugh at it." *I was there! I was there! I’ll never forget your ex-b/f Kristen. He was one in a million.* -Raquel: "It was at the NSYNC concert that was the best experience for me. It was one I won’t forget! I had gone with my stepsister Virginia and we had taken BART and when we got off I had no clue where the back parking lot was, so I figured which one I thought it was and all I saw were 949 stuff and no Townsend ;o( We then met up with my friends Ashley and Mercedes and we all went looking for them but we still couldn't find them. So I told them to go with me to the other parking lot and sure enough I saw the radio Disney booth! I think that was that happiest moment that had struck me alllllll day! So I was like "oh my gosh! I see Todd! I’m soooooo happy!" and then there was a man that was standing next to us that looked at me and smiled. I found out the next day that, that man just happened to be the one and only TREX! I was sooooooo embarrassed I was like oh my he probably thinks I’m a freak! Well I ran over to the booth and this time out of all the times that I have seen the guys I now had a camera!!!!!!!! So I got in line, and the radio Disney guy goes "umm I’m sorry I have to cut the line off in front of you, but I’m sure if you go to the Z95.7 booth they'll be giving away free stuff too!" and I was about to scream and I said "I’m not here for free stuff ! I’m here to see Townsend!" I was soooooooooooo ready to cry! And he was just being rude so that really downed my mood. But it was okay I then went and took about 7 pictures of the guys from a distance and finally I saw that Todd wasn't in the booth, he was at his own table, so my friend Mercedes went and took me to see Todd. As many times as I have seen them I still get very shy, so I tried to call for him but I guess I was really quiet so Mercedes goes "what's his name??" and I said "Todd" so she yelled his name sooooooo loud and turned around like it wasn't her and only I was left looking at him! So I went up and asked if I could possibly take a picture of and with him, and he was like "of course you can!" so I was really happy! Then I met this girl who I guess had heard about the guy cutting off the lines and she let me cut with her! So we finally got up to the booth and I got to go inside!!!!!! I got hugs and took a lot of pictures with them! Then they had to leave, but I realized I didn't get to take a picture with Matt yet! So as they were walking away, my friends had finally just pushed me and said "Go ask him!" so we went up and asked him and of course he said yes! So that had just made my night complete! Out of it I gained a roll of great pictures and I made Ashley and Mercedes and Virginia Townsend Fans! It was an awesome night and it was the best ever!" -Holly: My favorite TOWNSEND moment by far, has to e the air show performance and autograph signing on August 11, 2001. It was already exciting to see all the guys again, but going with one of my best friends, Mary, made it more enjoying and fun. She has been and still is the best person to go to TOWNSEND events with. So Mary, if you’re reading this… thank you for everything, I had such a blast and awesome time with yah. Keep in mind that there is no one that I’d rather be at TOWNSEND events with than you! Also, before I even get started with the details and everything, I just wanted to give a special thanks to Uncle Bob for providing us with tickets. =) It was extremely nice and it was great meeting you to Wendy! Oh geez, I don’t even know where to start! I had such a beyond awesome time that everything was totally great, and it was a perfect day! Let’s just start from the previous days before August 11th. Everyday seemed to get closer and closer, and Mary and I got even more excited each day. Trust me, excited enough that we couldn’t even get any sleep on the night of August 10th. I still remember talking to Mary online that night and I told her to go to sleep around 10 something since I was going to get ready for bed. However, we both ended up in the same situation, and just kept tossing and turning until it was time to get ready. We’re just two devoted fans of the guys and we truly have faith and belief in the guys, just like everyone else. I left my house around 8 something and went to pick up Mary. We had the hugest smile on our faces and couldn’t wait anymore to see the guys. As we were driving to the Moffett Field, we sort of got lost (oh yes, I'm bad with directions) and it postponed my estimated arrival to the air show. Of course, I was thinking, "Oh no! We’re going to miss them and it’s going to be so hard to find the guys" since it was getting closer to 9:30 every time I looked at the clock (Oh, 9:30 was the time that they posted on the website stating when they’ll be there) Guess what? I was completely wrong. It seems to me that getting lost was meant to be. LOL, that sounds pretty weird but I’ll get into my explanation. Let’s just say we ended up spotting Todd’s car on the other side of the road and ended up being right behind it. We both totally freaked out and I'm guessing my mom thought we were pretty crazy. After they parked and we got dropped off, we were just chillin’ and stuff because they were in this building for warm-up’s or rehearsals. We just walked around and saw Julie carrying a box, so we assumed that it was TOWNSEND t-shirts and we headed right for the booth that she stopped at. We were two of the first to get our TOWNSEND shirts at $15.00. Not that that’s important or anything =) I was just going in order (so I don’t leave anything out). Then the guys came out of the building to sign autographs and meet with fans, then went to lunch, came back to change and get ready to perform, perform, and sign more autographs and meet with more fans after that. And plus, I think they had an interview after that. It was an extremely long day filled with many laughter, new fans, interesting conversations, fun, excitement and their performance was incredible! No really, it was my first time seeing them perform and they totally WOWed the crowd! And to make it even better, Mary and I were front row center. Other than that, we pretty much got to hang out with them for as long as they were signing autograph and meeting fans. It was totally fun, like even if we stepped out for new fans to meet the guys, we got to talk to other fans and it’s just great! It’s a TOWNSEND family thing going on here! One of the highlights of the day was Dom wanting to personalize my shirt, but it took him like forever to think. The first time he asked all the other guys to "think of something creative and unique" and the funniest thing was that all of them took a glance at him, ignored him, and got back to whatever they were doing. He looked like he needed some time to think… so I gave him time. Came back like 10 minutes later and he said, "I thought I got away with something." And since Nick was right next to him, he asked Nick the same question again and he said, "Man, you can’t put me on the spotlight like that" and once again, that didn’t really give Dom the help that he wanted. He was surrounded by many fans (you know who you are, if you were there =) and he had his hands on his head and guess what he came up with? Hehe, he wrote: "2: Holly To our most patient fan. Love, the guys." Pretty good right? It was definitely creative and unique Dom, thanks, I’ll never forget that! Hehe! Well, I'm thinking that if I tell everything that went on that day, you’ll never finish reading this message so I’ll just stop. If you want to read my review of the air show or Kristen’s review of the air show then visit Rye’s Party Crew Club. http://cruzin.to/ryantorres Be sure to read Kristen’s review because it’s one of the best reviews I’ve ever read. GO KRISTEN! You’re talented, amazing and awesome! To sum this up, it was a beautiful day filled with five of the hottest, coolest, and nicest guys on earth! =) It was one of the best days of my life and I'm glad to be apart of their first performance after the record deal. It’ll be an event that will always be cherished. I'm definitely looking forward to seeing all you TOWNSEND fans at the next appearance! =) Love yah lots, take the best of care, and stay safe! -Jessica: "OK, u might think this is nothing to trip about but, my fave moment happened when I met them for the first time at the *NSYNC concert (7/21/01). I was in line getting their autographs and the radio station next door was playing "Digital Get Down". That's a fave song for me, so I started singing, "Digital digital get down" and while I was singing this I was just staring at Nick and he finished the line by saying "Just you and me" and he pointed at me when he said "you"! I started to smile because it was super cute! I just stopped at that part and he finished it!" -Jen: "My Favorite Townsend moment would be at Moffett Field on August 11,2001. I was holding up a sign that said "Townsend" and during the introductions, Todd pointed it out. It's funny though because my sign wasn't that creative but it was pointed out anyways. I'll never forget that." -Amy: "I really have no idea how I’m going to pick one thing. I have a lot of memories and every time I have to pick a favorite I change haha. Ok so yeah favorite memory....let’s see what will be appropriate for people of all ages to read? Umm...ok...So I’m going to say that one of my favorite Townsend moments is the Air Show. I really had so much fun that day. I got to spend some good quality time with all my girls, and the guys. Even if i did get in trouble a couple times (ok like 23423 times) it was still way fun. Not to mention that Matt had his AWESOME shirt on (I still want one like his) It was just a fun day all around. There were the twins and their safety demonstration as far as riding on a golf cart and the beans. It was just fun. The guys gave an awesome performance and Just Say Goodbye was a tear jerker (like always). There were also some VERY hilarious moments. Addie and her "friend" who kept walking in front of the camera, my teenybopper moment in the autograph line (that im not allowed to go in apparently), taco bell, and that’s all I can think of. It was a great day though just believe me." -Andrea: "**Note: Katie is in LA at the moment so I'm writing this on both of our behalf. We have experienced practically everything with the guys together so while not all of what I say goes for the both of us, we pretty much feel the same.** When it comes to Nick, Dom, Rye, Matt and Todd we're not sure where to begin. They are all very unique *in more than one way haha* and we love them each for who they are. There have been so many times when all one of us needed was a smile, and one of them was there to make it happen. I'm not sure whether or not I have a favorite experience with them, because I have honestly valued every bit of their friendship from day one. And when I say every bit, I mean it, the ups and the downs and everything in between. I think one of the most memorable times for both Katie and I was one random day before Townsend the group even existed. I remember it like it was yesterday, but in fact it was like two years ago. It was just Ryan, Dom, & Nick hangin' out with Showbiz & some other people. We had already known Ryan for quite some time but this was the first time we would be introduced to the twins. *Parking lot of Tower Records at Hillsdale Mall, right boys?? And no matter what you say Dom, Katie & I were not ignoring you & Nick* There’s nothing specific about that day that made it so special, it was just genuinely fun & unforgettable. The things that were said, the people that were there, and just everything went right that day. Ahh the good old days :) For some reason I never expected my relationship with those guys to grow so much, but now I understand why it did & I will never regret it. I know Katie doesn't regret it either, I just asked her over the phone haha jk. Even though they are constantly making fun of Katie & I *don’t worry we always get em back somehow right Katie?*, we know that we can always call on them to be there for us *and they know that goes both ways*. My life has been changed so much on behalf of them & I have been given the opportunity to meet and become friends with so many others as well. I’m a firm believer in the saying "everything happens for a reason", and well, Katie and I met these guys for a reason...to make friendships and memories that will last a lifetime." -Ashley & Sara: "Well, my friend Sara and I were going to the 98* concert at shoreline. I knew Townsend was going to be there, and she had never met them before. so before the concert I introduced her to all of them and we took pics and stuff. So yea, she loved them. Then after the concert, we saw them once again outside. Now Sara has this fetish with guys' butts. So she went and took a picture of Dom's butt, and he caught her after and was kind of embarrassed. Then she went up to Nick and asked if he could take a picture with her and both of them could show their butts. Nick looked at her like she was weird, but eventually we convinced him and he was very embarrassed (you can tell in the pic) but it was so cute. Then we tracked down Ryan and captured his butt too. So that was our little adventure. You can check out the pics here http://clubs.yahoo.com/clubs/wild949teamprettyboy in the 98* concert photo album." -April: "My favorite Townsend moment was when I first laid eyes on the tall dark and handsome WuTodd, I will never forget his gorgeous eyes, his sweet smile and the look in his face that just said to me "I love you April" o yes...my precious precious Wu." -Stella: "I don't really have a favorite Townsend event that I can think of cuz they are just way too awesome :-d but the funniest one would prolly be the Great America one. . even tho Todd wasn't there. I missed him thiiiis much ( you can't see me rite now but my arms are spread apart so far that they're not visible anymore) and more. I like to have things to myself and I know this sounds extremely selfish but yea well its Stella we're talking about. . "i care about myself and only myself." jk. . anyway, getting off topic. . we were in line for grizzly and some REALLY SMART kid barfed on the ride so we had to wait. and I just stood there in awe looking at the brave worker get a broom with such ease and wrap paper towels around it and attempt to clean the mess. I heard Nick in the background talking with some random person so I decided to leave him alone and look at the barf some more. . I guess he saw me staring cuz then he told me this REALLY cool story about how this one girl in an ambulance had like vertical barf or something. . I thought that was pretty cool, impossible, but cool. . but it can't be impossible cuz Nick never lies. THAT, MY FRIENDS, IS WHAT I CALL A COOL THING TO KNOW FROM A VERY COOL PERSON WHO BELONGS TO A VERY COOL GROUP. oh oh and Nick also taught me how to kidney punch in line and without that I don't know where I would be and then we went on the ride together…but the line was more fun." Townsend luv *~STeLLa~* *Vertical barf Stella…that’s just a beautiful picture. Thanks for the reminder of the Grizzly incident. For some of us STUCK on the ride, it just wasn’t as wonderful because of…oh you know.* -Sheerin: "Hey everyone! It’s Sheerin! Man, it’s so hard to just think of one Townsend event, so I’ll choose a couple! LoL one would totally have to be the 1st time I met the guys all together, and that was at the All That Concert back in '00, I had met all except for Nick and Dom at other concerts and it was just a pretty laid back night, I got pics and stuff (okay... they didn’t actually come out.. but forget that! lol) and omg!! I think about everyone knows this story already, the 98* concert... man o man! See... I hadn’t seen Townsend in 6 months, so I decided to get them presents! I asked them all their fave candy, animal, ya know. Stuff like that. So I'm there w/ the presents, and a little joke came up w/ that one. lol here here: this is the funny part! I got Matt and Dom some "under garments for woman" lol sorry! Trying to make it not so obvious! lol these were the coolest! I mean leopard print! so its the thongs, and laxative jelly beans (go Matt!) okay, story #3 this was at Townsend’s 1st official performance at Popstars! wohoo! so Stella and Chiara come back from the bathroom w/ their really interesting finding! of course all of us follow! well we knew that Townsend had been doing some soundchecking.. so we found this little place to do some "spying" well anyways, we were standing on the bench, and omg! I broke it!! see that was embarrassing, and also, a week or so later, Matt found out about this (thanks Mrs. ride :) ) lol! and last but not least, just overall being able to know Townsend and the wonderful friends that I have met through them! you both are the best!!! love ya lots!" *Shhhhh Sheerin, no one’s supposed to know my nickname. :P Only Paul Walker knows.* -Monika: "My favorite Townsend moment was when I got to meet Ryan Torres for the first time in Sac-Town on April 8th. He was so hot! And I also got to take a picture with him. Talk about Kodak moment! It was such a good moment until it started to rain!!!!" *That Monika…she loves her picture w/him. It’s a cute shot. I keep telling her she looks scared it in though. LoL* -Melissa: "It was a cold night, I had my gray sweater on with my blue jeans. I figured I was going to see Christina Aguilera and Destiny's Child, no guys would be there. BOY was I wrong. I looked like crap and all the guys looked like Campbell’s soup. Mmmm Mmm Good! Ok well my best friend Jennifer and I ran into and old class mate of hers (MEGAN!!). She was telling Jennifer about how she spent the day with Gina Restani's brothers. They were in a group. I had heard the name before, but I had no clue who Gina was, but Jen was like no way. So during the intermission before Destiny’s' Child came out, Jen went to the bathroom. On her way back, she saw Megan and Megan took her to meet the guys. While I sat afraid, worried for my friend, but I held everything together and made sure I got my groove on while my favorite trio was performing. Jen came back AFTER the set and was like, "Melissa you have to meet them, they are FINE." So if Jen said it like that FIIIIINE then I knew they had to be. I saw them and I was like "Thank you GOD!... HURT ME HURT ME HURT ME." But I thought they were probably some huge stars so they wouldn't even bother talking to us, so we took a picture and they started talking to us which was cool. But then Jen was like Melissa ask Ryan to prom, cuz we thought he was mmmmmm good. But I was like no, and she was like come on we're never going to see them again. And so I’m like but still, she's like I dare you I’m like we're not 5, then oh man she's like I triple dogg dare you so I’m like ooooooh triple dog, so I’m like alright but u owe me $10 if I do so she's like alright. So he is talking to us and I’m like by any chance would you like to go to prom with me? And his eyes light up like a deer in head lights it was sooooooo funny. He was like ya if we don't have anything to do. I'm like you can just say no I’m not going to get mad. And he was like no if I can, ya I’ll go. But I felt so moded hahaha. But I was like well I’ll never see them again. So we chatted with them more and Todd was VERY anxious to go and see his girl Christina, so we walked up to the lawn and finished watching the show. It was cool, and the guys are just as nice as they were then. They're great guys, and I feel like a mother, so proud that they've made it this far! I wish them much luck, and I will be behind them 300%!!! NO that's not a typo. LoL. And I give much love to Joy and Kristen and Amy and Tamara, cuz we've all MET MET them and have known them since then, but those four ladies have done SO much in just a year, and I'm going to start doing more now…lol.. Ok so, I just had to say that and that I thank Townsend for being so nice to me, their families are the greatest. I've met Shannon online. And all the fans that I've met you have all become good friends..Ok and Joy you just wanted us to write our favorite moment, but ya i had to add that all in. I love you Joy. You're great.. lol. LOVE FEST! ok bye AND JOIN THE TOWNSEND TWINS CLUB!!!!" *-*Melissa*-* *I love you too Melissa! I feel the love! ^_^* -Vicky: "My favorite moment was at the 98 Degrees concert when half of the stadium ambushed Townsend!!!!! LoL! That was just the funniest thing in the world! Cause all the security guards were like "WHAT?!?" There were probably more Townsend fans in the audience then 98 Degrees fans!!!!" -Megan: "Hey, well...there are sooooooooo many memories I have of spending time with these 5 awesome guys. These range from when I met them to my birthday wishes, & everything in between. I'll just tell u of some events that stand out in my mind. One is walking with Ryan at the Christina Aguilera concert passing out the Townsend business cards (anyone still have those? haha) I doubt he remembers this, but I’ll tell you what happened. We were walking, passing out the cards, and we were going towards the 94.9 booth in the venue. It was really crowded and there was this kid with like 2 or 3 big cups of soda. And then, right in front of us, he drops them. As we walk by, Ryan goes to me: "That's gotta suck! Those things are expensive!" OK...another experience...2 words: Townsend Sixpac...or..ummm...98* concert..haha..Ok, the 98* concert had many ups & downs...if you were there, you may remember some things that were occurred/said. Anywayz, there was a group of six of us that stuck together the whole night: Me, Katie, Andrea, Amy, Tamara, & Stephanie (Katie & Andrea's friend). We spent the whole night together & took pictures with the guys. Even one picture that was SUPPOSED to be with Matt..but SOMEONE *ahem, DOM, ahem* ran into the picture. Some people say that that was the picture of the night. Anywayz, the 6 of us girls took a picture together, I scanned it, & sent it to Matt asking him to name us. And he did: Townsend Sixpac (i.e.: Townsend Sixpac like Sisqo's Sixpac). A third memory I’ll tell you, and then I’ll be on my way, is from the Aaron Carter concert. I was having a really bad day, those that were there know. And I thank ALL of you that were there to give me support. It meant a lot. I won't get into details, but Dom said some words that changed the whole rest of the day around. He may not know that what he said meant a LOT to me, but it did and I'll NEVER forget those words. Oh, and then, of course, was waiting by Stealth the rest of the night. And, well, no comment. hahahaha...Anywayz, I think I’ll stop babbling on now because this will never end. In conclusion, these 5 guys that I consider friends are some of the sweetest most unbelievable people around. I'll be by their side 120+% without a doubt, from when I first met them well over a year & a half ago until who knows when. I luv ya!" Alwayz 'n Forever Megan (aka CrAzY MeG) I had to save this one for last because it’s *holy crap* LONG, but it’s a very very good story. -Rebecca: "Well, since I'm actually not a fan... I'm not quite sure why I'm writing... but Joy asked, so I shall oblige... :-) But what am I going to write about? My good pal Ryan! ;-D Call this my little tribute/story if you like. As an entertainment journalist for the past 5 1/2 years, I've met several people, most of their faces have all blended together in my mind like an abstract painting. But there's one face that I always seemed to remember ... and see, at nearly every event in the bay area. Ryan's. First off, he wasn't Ryan. He was Camera Boy... I won't tell why though because it'll spoil the confusion on Matt's face every time I call him that. Let's just say it's one of those 'you had to be there' nicknames that no one really uses. Ry has always been a sweetie. Always out chatting with the fans and mingling. I can't remember an event in the last 4 years I've known him that I didn't see him out taking pictures and slapping his name on anything anyone asked him to sign. But somehow our friendship never got really past anything other than the general "So who'd you tour with last fall?" and "Did you get Christina Aguilera's phone number yet?" jokes we made. We had no real friendship ... more of a good aquaintence-like relationship. I had no clue Ryan was even interested in singing, far less was in a group the last time I'd seen him. It'd been @ the NSA show *NSYNC did in Oakland. After yelling at "Wu-Todd" to get out of my way so I could say hey to Ry (Sorry Todd!!), we chatted for a few minutes on the bus, then I took off with Dre... Chris Kirkpatrick's body guard who is usually on loan to me when I work with the group. Flash forward to this past July... I had to beg Clive Davis for tix to the O-Town concert at Great America... OK, so I didn't beg the man, but I promised him I'd give Ashley my brother's latest CD and his autograph (my brother is a DJ in the area and Ashley Angel is a fan apparently). After chatting with the PR person in charge at the venue about limitations in the photographers pit, her face lit up as she asked if she could introduce me to a new group that was there named Townsend. "Sure. Why not." I smiled. "Great!" She exclaimed, taking off and returning with Nick and Matt. After introductions made by myself, the D-Crew and a college newspaper, Matt asked what part of the media I was in. I looked about 16. I explained that I was a freelance writer and photographer ... but I also was the entertainment news director for an Internet radio station and had my own radio show. (Nick had excused himself to go locate Dom.) Matt asked if he could give me a copy of their demo to listen to. I said sure, I could get some friends to listen to it, too. He grinned, and took off. He returned a moment later with the CD... and my pal Ryan. After the usual "OMG!", "What r u doing here?!" and all that jazz were completed, Ry quickly explained to those present (excluding my photographer and mum) how we knew each other. My photographer snapped a pic of the guys (minus Todd, who was still on his vacation) and then had me pose for one with them. After a short argument with Dom over picking me up or not for the photo (I opted a big no-thankyouverymuch for that), I promised Ryan I'd e-mail him and let them all know what I thought of the CD. ---Side-note--- Most journalists receive demo's from up-and-coming artists signed, and unsigned. The unsigned acts hand a demo over in the hopes that the writer will dig it enough to pass it along to a contact at a label or management company who can get it heard, and get the group's foot in the door. Personally, I've received plenty of them, most of which make wonderful coasters, wannabe wind chimes and other fun crafty things in my house. ---End note--- Because this was my Camera Boy, I decided to give the whole thing a listen. I gave that a big "WHOA!" after the first note of Just Say Good-bye (which was the # 1 most requested song on my On The Rise count-down the last two weeks in a row), I nearly crashed the car. This song is almost release worthy. Good quality, good vocals, catchy hook, great lyrics. The things that attract not just journalists and fans to music ... but rather, record labels and managers. The rest of the three song demo was great. Only one track remained raw and felt like it needed a few changes. But other than those minor things, this was great. So great, I finally had to burn a copy of it for my mum so she'd stop taking mine. Home, I immediately E-mailed my four closest contacts in the management world. Donna Wright (former manager of Pink, ex wife to boyband guru Johnny Wright.), Lynn Harless (manager of Innocence & Justin Timberlake's mummy) and finally, Lance Bass and Chris Kirkpatrick for their respective companies. I knew Chris was really looking to sign a new act, and Lance is itching to sign a boyband. I'm not going to say what they all thought. Because in all honesty, it doesn't matter anymore. The guys have a CO-management deal with Spun out records, as you-all know. There seems to be something in the water down in Orlando. All the "boybands" are coming from there. It's nice to see a "home-run" by the local boys for a change. Since the air show in August, Townsend has had 100% of my support as a writer, photographer, media trainer and designer. They've also been great guinea pigs for my mum to practice her photography on as she builds her own portfolio up. (much appreciated guys!) Dreams are something everyone needs to have. Making them come true is up to you alone. And it makes me happy to see an honest kid, go from a dream to reality the way I've seen Ryan do recently. And the fun thing... I've come out with a better relationship with Ryan, and four new guy pals. The more I work with "Townsend" and the more I talk to each guy individually, the more I see just exactly how blessed every single fan out there is, and every person in general who comes across them. They might be a "boyband" (something the pop music world honestly doesn't need another of right now), but they're more than that. They're five guys ... who are making their dreams come true. From air-shows to Macy's fund raiser events, to dreaming of that Asia tour to Dream Chasing with Jessica Simpson. These guys aren't just another "local band" that's bound to pull a quick and painful crash-n-burn. They're going to take off and blow up. In a good way! Most people can't tell you what changes in a group or artist over the years as they develop their crafts in harmony, song-writing, and choreography. In just three shows, I've seen these guys go from decent and professional live ... to very good and very very professional live. No matter what happens on stage, from mic's cutting out and moves messed up, to not being able to sign autographs right after their set and so on ... these guys seem to make me even more proud of them as artists, and as people as each show passes. Guys... I know you've come a long way from just imagining being on stage to actually doing it. (Gotta love them, rumors, right?) But from a friend's point of view ... you're going to go far. And from a journalist's point of view ... you're going to go farther. And I'm happy to be along for the ride with you." All my love; ~Rebecca And we can’t forget those wonderful moments that come from the guys themselves: -Ryan: "I would have to say the most embarrassing Townsend moment was when all of us were at TGI FRIDAY’s. I ordered a strawberry shortcake, and as the waiter walked over to bring it to me, he basically threw it at me and got it all over me!! Then Matt had said "What the heck, that guy totally threw that at you", and he was right behind him. Oh well, I received two coupons for free dinner the next two times I went there so that was cool!! Actually this probably isn’t the most embarrassing moment!! I would have to say Nick embarrassed me in front of some older people one time at a stoplight when we were in LA, by being his funny self and I think I cried from laughing so hard. I can’t really say what he did to make me so embarrassed though. But it was really really funny!!" ...and now back to Joy: Hmm…looks to me that a lot of people seem to have fetishes with the gluteus maximus. Hey, I’m in Anatomy & Physiology now, so I’m supposed to use the "correct term". Hehe So note to the guys, that’s not a bad thing. Nowadays, it’s just something you can’t run away from. It always just seems to be right "behind" you. Wow that was corny. But let’s see. What’s my favorite Townsend moment? I have about 50 billion of them so it’s a little hard to pick. So I guess I’ll just pick the cream of the crop. One was definitely when I met Matt for the first time at the 98 Degrees concert earlier this year at the Shoreline Amphitheater. I had already previously talked to him online before, but this was my first live in person encounter with him, so I didn’t know what to expect. I was talking to Dom and was all "So is that Matt?" Could I have said anything stupider? Of course I knew that was Matt! See that’s what happens when you don’t know what to do or say, you just kinda blurt out things without thinking. And Dom was all "Yea", and he goes "Hey Matt, this is Joy." Then Matt yelled "Joyeeeeee!!" and preceded to give me a big hug. That was the most heartwarming greeting I’d ever gotten from a guy that I’d never met before. And it was funny because I wasn’t expecting him to be so friendly, so Megan and I were both like "Whoa…" Then there was the time that Dom, Nick, Rye, & Todd came to my high school to do an interview with me for our newspaper. Now that was an experience I’ll never quite forget. Fast forward to the funny part. We went outside to take pictures of the guys. Our photographer Leticia convinced the guys to do some sort of a goofy pose. So Todd, Nick, and Dom huddled up like they were making a football play, whispering and everything. Rye was just standing on the side. Then out of nowhere all 3 of them rush Rye and pick him up. That was comedy! I’m sure some of you have seen the pictures, but to be there to witness it, I was rollin’. Rye’s face turned as red as those sour strawberry belts he loves. Everyone was cracking up, then Dom picked Rye up. I swear they are the biggest dorks ever. I think it was Todd who was picking our beautiful rose bushes (Geez Todd! LoL) and sprinkling the petals on the twin’s heads when they were trying to take a picture. That’s not even half of what happened. The area we were in was basically a garden in-between the hallways and classrooms. So there’s windows looking out. All of a sudden, I see 4-5 (Hong, Jaina, Irene, to name a few of you spies…Yes YOU 3!) of my friends peeking out the windows at us. I lost it after seeing that! They resorted to spying at us through the hallway windows since my newspaper advisor hadn’t let them in the classroom. Nick and I went into the bushes by the window and he was all "Hi!" while I was busy laughing. And dude I got mud all over my shoes! I’ve never let my friends live that one down. I’ll forever have the pictures to prove they were peeking through the windows. Another fav of mine is when a bunch of us went to go help the guys promote their Popstars performance at Great America. It was a good time with not just the guys, but with all my friends. We got to enjoy those yummy Dip-N-Dots (which I add can now be purchased at McDonalds yey!) and talk about what had been going on lately. Matt still needs to go on Drop Zone! Ok I know there’s more, but this is EXTREMELY long and some stories just aren’t meant to be told. I know not everyone got the chance to have their fav Townsend moment in this edition of All Access, so stay tuned for the next one. I’ll include more for you to read. So I hope everyone has enjoyed reading about the stories from the fans & the guys. Don’t forget Townsend is opening for Jessica Simpson October 27th! Hope to cya there! Return To All Access Column Index